Asked by: Chris Ward (Labour - Brighton Kemptown and Peacehaven)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to make SEND training mandatory for (a) Initial Teacher Training and (b) continual learning for qualified teachers.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
Supporting pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) is a mandatory part of initial teacher training and training for early career teachers, creating a strong foundation for those joining the profession. The new initial teacher training and early career framework comes into effect from September 2025 and sets out the minimum entitlement for teacher training and must cover adaptive teaching and SEND. The department tested this approach with SEND educational experts with consensus that the approach of ‘quality-first teaching’ would be the best way to improve outcomes for all children.
We also recognise that continuous improvement is essential and have recently committed to a full review of the early career teacher entitlement in 2027 to ensure it continues to provide the best possible basis for initial teacher training and early career teacher support.
To further support teachers, in autumn 2024 the department began delivery of the national professional qualification for special educational needs co-ordinators (SENCOs). This is now the mandatory qualification for SENCOs. Participants will develop the essential knowledge and skills needed to set the strategic direction of SEND policy in a school and the conditions in which pupils with SEND can thrive.
Asked by: Chris Ward (Labour - Brighton Kemptown and Peacehaven)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential implications for her policies of the report by The Sutton Trust entitled The Opportunity Index, published in May 2025.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
The Sutton Trust’s valuable report highlights that too many children face barriers to success because of who they are or where they come from. This is why, through the Opportunity Mission, we will break the link between young people’s backgrounds and their future success, by tackling child poverty, ensuring all children have safe and loving homes, get the best start in life, achieve and thrive in school and develop skills to succeed in life.
We agree with the report that these challenges are multi-faceted and require a complex package of measures. That is why we have started to make progress by expanding free school meals to all children on Universal Credit, have delivered the largest ever uplift to early years pupil premium, are driving school improvement through our regional improvement for standards and excellence teams, and launched foundation apprenticeships as part of a Youth Guarantee so that all 18 to 21 year-olds in England have access to education, training or help to find a job or an apprenticeship.
Asked by: Chris Ward (Labour - Brighton Kemptown and Peacehaven)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of revising the eligibility rules for free school transport.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
The department’s home to school travel policy aims to make sure that no child is prevented from accessing education by a lack of transport. Local authorities must arrange free home to school travel for children of compulsory school age, 5 to 16, who attend their nearest school and would not be able to walk there because of the distance, their special educational needs, disability or mobility problem, or because the nature of the route means it would be unsafe for them to do so. There are extended rights to free travel for children from low-income families.
I am keen to understand how well home to school transport supports children to access educational opportunity and will be working with departmental officials on this.